Opened in 2021, the new VA Lubbock Clinic serves 300,000 Texas veterans in the region with a comprehensive range of services – services they would otherwise have to travel 100 miles to access.
The 127,119-square-foot outpatient facility, located on the campus of Texas Tech University, was designed by the architects at Hoefer Welker in the Kansas City area. The building blends traditional and contemporary aesthetics.
Wanting to present a welcoming, easy-to-access entrance, the architects added an expansive drop-off canopy engineered by Duo-Gard with its low-profile, high-performance Sleekline System. This patented system integrates translucent monolithic polycarbonate glazing and steel framing.
“The Sleekline system helped accentuate the ceremonial vehicle circle drive and drop-off entry to welcome patients with open arms under the curved translucent canopy. The long-span system is able to cover several cars or a bus or a shuttle,” says Cristine Henderson, AIA, Associate Vice President.
Lubbock’s Sleekline is 100 feet long by 15 feet wide with 1/4” thick polycarbonate in a gray tint. The translucent glazing provides a high degree of diffused daylight and minimizes glare.
Henderson says the canopy “looks fantastic and the veterans love the clinic.”
“Duo-Gard is proud to add this impressive project to our list of collaborations with Hoefer Welker for the VA,” says Shawn Mahoney, CSI, Architectural Sales Manager. That list includes canopies for VA facilities in Tennessee, California, Kansas, Arizona, Georgia and Alabama.
Mahoney adds that Duo-Gard’s installation crew worked through 100 degree heat to successfully complete the canopy: “One example of how our teams consistently go above and beyond.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Hoefer Welker / Copyright by Bob Greenspan